


Killer by Their Side

by blingy



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Characters to be added later, Detectives, Fox Hybrid Floris | Fundy, Gen, Hybrids, Light Angst, Murder Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Philza :(, Pig Hybrid Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Platonically Married Ranboo and Toby Smith | Tubbo, Ram Hybrid Jschlatt, Set in America, a lot of the characters mentioned haven't shown up yet, and there's more i haven't added in the tags yet :o, graphic depictions of murder / violence, i think, karl quackity and sapnap are fiances, slime hybrid slimecicle, the hybrids don't do anything cool i just like the headcanons :D, tubbo wilbur tommy & techno are brothers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-24 00:53:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30064158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blingy/pseuds/blingy
Summary: The Patriarch of the Minecraft family, Philza Minecraft, is found dead by one of his sons. Everyone in the family is a suspect. A pair of detectives are brought out to the home to find the killer, but it won't be easy.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 17





	1. Trouble

**Author's Note:**

> Tags and characters will be added, so look out for that!
> 
> This is my first fic on AO3, thank you so much for reading!
> 
> The entire concept of this fic was inspired by the 2019 film 'Knives Out' as well as this tweet: https://twitter.com/klausprotection/status/1370051539566465025?s=20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Detectives Schlatt and Charlie are called to investigate the suspicious death of one of SMP's most beloved citizens.

The gate to the Minecraft mansion started to open as the two detectives pulled up to the entrance. They sat together in the short, black car, waiting as the gate slowly opened. A police car followed behind them.

"So, who're you putting bets on?" The driver of the car asked. His partner turned to look at him.

"What do you mean?" The partner asked. He straightened his posture as the gate completely opened. The car drove forward onto the long, paved driveway.

"I mean, who do you bet did it?"

The partner paused in thought. The car followed the pavement as it looped around a large tree in front of the mansion, driving slightly off the paved road and parking behind an older car. The police car parked on the opposite side of the pavement. The car was shut off, and the two detectives took off their seatbelts.

"I dunno. Maybe one of the kids." They stepped out of the car, stretching. "That's what usually happens in something like this, right?"

"Aye, you're learning Charlie." The driver walked to the other side of the car and patted his partner on his shoulder. He pushed the arm away. "Hey, if you know that much on your first murder investigation, think about how much you'll know in 10 or 20 years."

"Let's just go." Charlie muttered under his breath, speed walking to the front of the house. His partner laughed and did the same. The two policemen stepped out of their car and followed behind the detectives.

Charlie knocked on the door. There was a pause, then the door was pulled open.

\-----

The kid standing at the door was blonde, wearing a white shirt with red sleeves. His jeans were noticeably stained with dirt.

"Hello?" The boy asked. He moved to hide himself behind the large door.

"Hi." The other detective stepped forward so he was next to Charlie. "I'm Detective Jay Schlatt. This is Detective Charlie Slime." The detective pulled out their badges in unison. They showed it to the boy, and put them away. "We're here to interview the family."

"Oh, right." The boy backed away from the door, allowing the detectives and the police to walk inside. He eyed down the police. "Are we getting arrested?"

"No, no. They're just here in case something goes wrong." Charlie assured. The boy scrunched his eyebrows.

"Oh-okay. I'll go get my brother, then." He stepped closer to the steps which were in front of the door. "The sitting room is down at the very end of the hallway. It's hard to miss." Charlie nodded and smiled.

"Thanks." The four headed down the hallway while the kid slowly stepped upstairs. The hallway ended on a small sitting room, with a dark leather sofa and matching chairs. Everything was stacked on the coffee table neatly, despite the amount of people that lived in the home. The four stood awkwardly in the middle of the room.

Distantly, upstairs, they could hear a piano coming from upstairs. It was a sweet melody, hitting a wrong key every once in a while. After a few more seconds, the piano stopped.

The kitchen was connected to the sitting room by a cutout in the wall. The detectives heard footsteps, and turned to face the entrance to the kitchen. There was a guy standing next to the fridge, opening the door to the fridge and grabbing a small carton of chocolate milk out of it. Schlatt cleared his throat, and the boy jumped. He shut the fridge and turned around.

"Who're you guys?" He asked. He was wearing ripped jeans with a colorful hoodie. On the front there was a green spiral in the center of the hoodie. Charlie popped his fingers.

"We're detectives. From the SMPD." The kid opened his chocolate milk. "We're here about your dad's death." The kid gave Charlie a weird look.

"My dad?" Charlie nodded. "I don't have a dad. Are you talking about Phil?"

"Yeah, is he-?" Charlie was cut off.

"He's not my dad. Well, biologically." He took a drink of his milk. "I don't call him my dad, either." He hid his face with his sleeve.

"Are you related to him?" Schlatt asked. The kid shrugged his shoulders and left the kitchen through another door. The detectives looked at each other, confused looks on their faces. Footsteps echoed from the front of the house, and they turned to the opening of the hallway.

A man emerged, around the same age as Charlie. He wore a red beanie and a yellow sweater with rips at the sleeves. His dark knees were ripped at the knees. He greeted the detectives, shaking their hands.

"Detectives." He spoke with a calm tone, straightening his posture when he noticed the police officers.

"I'm assuming you're Wilbur Soot." Schlatt stepped forward.

"I am, yes."

"Great, we're here to interview you and your family about the death of your father."

"Yeah, um," Wilbur turned to look down the hallway, then turned back to the detectives. "I'll get everyone down here. Our family room is bigger, do you want to wait in there, instead?"

"That'd be great." Charlie grinned.

"Perfect, follow me."

~~~~~

_Wilbur heard knocks at his door. He stepped out of his bathroom, straightening his beanie. "Come in."_

_The door opened. Tommy was standing at the door, anxiety riddled across his face. "They're here, Will."_

_"Okay." He turned off the light in his bathroom and closed the door. "Do you remember everything that I told you?" He stepped up to Tommy and put his hands on his shoulders. Tommy nodded._

_"Stay cool, and don't cry." Wilbur nodded._

_"What else?"_

_"And tell the truth." Wilbur grinned._

_"Atta boy. Go let everyone else know. I'll be back up here to get all of you in a few minutes. Be ready for that, okay." Tommy nodded slowly. Wilbur took his hands off Tommy's shoulders._

_"Will?" Tommy cleared his throat. "Do they think someone killed Dad?"_

_"I don't know. They haven't told me anything yet." Wilbur stepped out of his room and closed the door. "They're probably doing this to cover all of their bases."_

_They walked together to the top of the stairs. "Will everything be okay?"_

_"Yes, Tommy. Everything will be fine." He paused, looking down the stairs. "Just do everything that I asked, okay?" Tommy nodded and headed towards another bedroom. Wilbur looked down the steps once more and made his way towards the first floor._

_Towards the detectives._

\-----

Wilbur was lying when he said he didn't think Phil was murdered. He _knew_ someone killed him.

Someone in the house killed him.

The ugly memories came back to him like a sick tidal wave. He remembered walking into the coroner's office only a few days ago and being told that his father's cause of death was a combination of arsenic poisoning and a stab wound in his lower stomach. He remembers seeing his dad, pale in the face and bedridden from his illness. He remembers the walk home, trying to avoid his brothers and friends as he made his way to his room, crying until he eventually fell asleep. He remembers everything; it felt like it happened years ago when in reality it's been less than 2 weeks.

And he wishes he could forget everything.

He tried his best to push the thoughts away as he showed the detectives and the officers the family room. It was identical to the sitting room, although it was larger with more seats and a TV that was big enough to cover the entire wall. He left them there, making his way back to the stairs and rushing up them.

Everyone was out in the hallway when Wilbur reached the top of the stairs. Tubbo and Ranboo were standing together, fixing each others' ties on their matching suits. The others were talking amongst themselves. Everyone fell silent when they saw Wilbur.

"Hey." Everyone was wearing casual clothes, which is different than their normal. No one said anything. No one moved. "They want us all downstairs now."

"What are they doing?" Ranboo asked. He spoke in a quiet tone.

"They're just going to talk to all of us. It'll probably take all day." Ranboo nodded as Wilbur spoke.

They're going to talk to us.

That's all they're going to do.


	2. Brothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The detectives begin their interviews, starting with the brothers. They quickly find out that they're in for more then they bargained for.

Everyone sat together in the family room. The younger kids all sat in the floor together in a small group.

"Alright." Schlatt cleared his throat. "If everyone's here I think we'll begin." 

The tension in the room was so thick you could probably cut it with a knife.

"We'll start with Phil's actual relatives, and we'll get to everyone else throughout the day." No one spoke. Wilbur stood up from the couch.

"You'll start with me then, I guess." He walked to the door. Charlie and Schlatt followed. "We can go to Dad's study. It's at the other end of the house."

"Yeah, that's fine." Wilbur lead them down a few hallways, stopping at a door with a pixelated heart carved in the center. He pushed the door open, walking into a room lined with books and plants. The desk was wooden, painted dark and decorated with intricate carvings and papers scattered along the top of the desk. There were three chairs in the room; one behind the desk and two in front.

"Sit there, Wilbur." Schlatt pointed to one of the chairs in front of the desk. He sat down in the desk chair and leaned forward. "Charlie, do you have the recorder?"

"Oh! Yeah." Charlie reached into the pocket inside his coat jacket and pulled out a tape recorder. He sat it in the center of the desk, positioning it so the microphone was in between Schlatt and Wilbur.

"Detective Charlie, would you like to-?" Wilbur started the question. His eyes motioned to the empty chair to his left.

"I'm okay, thanks though." He offered a smile to Wilbur, while he turned on the tape recorder. A light next to the microphone began to flash.

\-----

"This is Detective Charlie Slime, with Detective Jay Schlatt. The date is August 2nd, 2020, and the time is 8:55 AM. We are investigating the death of Mister Philza Minecraft. We are currently interviewing the first member of the family, Wilbur Soot-Minecraft." Charlie cracked his knuckles.

"Mister Soot, what's your relationship to Mister Minecraft?" Schlatt began the interview. Wilbur swallowed.

"He's my father."

"Biological or adopted?"

"Biological. I'm his only biological son."

"Your other siblings are adopted, I assume?"

"Yes, sir. All three of them."

"Three?" Charlie asked. Wilbur looked up at him. "I thought there were two."

"No, there's three." Wilbur stuttered slightly, but Charlie didn't notice it. "Techno, Tommy, and Tubbo."

"Where's Techno?" Charlie stood in front of Wilbur. Schlatt cleared his throat.

"Charlie, we can ask about that later." Charlie backed away. "Sorry, he's new to this."

"Yeah, it's fine. I'm new to the whole 'being interviewed about the death of my father' thing. I can't judge." Wilbur breathed out a laugh.

"Yeah, okay." Schlatt leaned back in the chair. "Where were you July 25th, at around 10:00 that night?"

"I was with Tommy, in town. We were buying some last minute groceries and I let Tommy drive home for practice."

"And, do you know where your father was at this time?"

"He was sick, in bed. He couldn't stand up on his own." Wilbur looked down. He twiddled his thumbs anxiously. "He asked me to pick up some medicine, and some of his favorite candy."

"Where was he when you came back?"

"In bed. I told Tommy that he was asleep, but I could tell he wasn't..." Wilbur trailed off. He looked out of the window to the backyard.

"He wasn't _really_ there, was he?" Charlie spoke with a soft tone in his voice. Wilbur shook his head.

"There was blood. I got a better look at him after I got Tommy to go to bed."

Charlie squatted down and got to eye level with Wilbur. "Can you describe it to me?"

"Just, blood. Around his lower stomach. I called the police, and tried to make sure none of the kids saw him." Charlie backed off, standing next to Schlatt.

"Who was all home when he died?"

"Everyone besides myself and Tommy, I guess. Techno was over, too." Wilbur looked back at the detectives. He took a few deep breaths, blinking away the tears that were threatening to come up.

"So, Techno. Does he live here?" Schlatt took over the interrogation.

"No. He moved out for college, but dropped out after a year. Now he just, kind of does whatever he wants to do. He, um, he travels a lot."

"Does he usually come and visit?"

"Yeah, every few months. He doesn't really have a schedule." Schlatt scrunched his eyebrows, leaning his elbows on the desk.

"Wilbur, don't you think it's a little odd?" Wilbur cocked his head to the side.

"What's odd?"

"That your brother, the only family member that doesn't live here, decides to visit right around the time your dad mysteriously dies?" Charlie's eyes widened. He looked down at Wilbur, who was playing with the loose strands of fabric on his sleeves.

"Techno and our Dad were close. He wouldn't do something like this." Schlatt nodded and backed off.

"Where's Techno now?"

"He left after dinner that night. He was preparing to fly to the UK, then to Italy." He paused. "After I called him, and told him what happened, he postponed his flights. I don't know where he is now."

"How was everyone else's relationships with your father?" Charlie asked. Wilbur looked up at him.

"Really good, actually. Dad took everyone in willingly. He helped everyone that needed help, he took care of everyone that he needed to take care of."

"You don't think there was secretly any bad blood?"

"No. I mean, we fought sometimes. Everyone fights. Especially because so many people live here. But there's no bad blood."

"You're sure?" Charlie softened his tone.

"I'm positive."

There was a lengthier silence. Wilbur calmed down, breathing deeply.

"Did anything feel odd that night?" Schlatt asked. "Or, like, out of the ordinary?" Wilbur shook his head. They paused again and Charlie crossed his arms.

"Okay, I think we're done right now." Wilbur stood up. Charlie turned off the tape recorder and shook his hand. "I'm sure we'll talk to you again in the next few days, since this is an investigation." Wilbur nodded.

"Walk him out, would you, Charlie?" Charlie opened the door to the office and held it open for Wilbur. He closed the door behind them, and they started down the maze of hallways that led to the family room.

"Could you do me a favor?" Charlie stopped him in front of the door to the family room, dropping his volume. "Can you get Techno out here for us? We need to talk to him like how we're talking to you, since he was there that night."

"Yeah." Wilbur nodded. "Yeah, I can do that." Charlie returned the nod and opened the door.

\-----

"This is our second interview. August 2nd, 2020. The time is 9:28 AM. We're currently talking with Tommy Innit-Minecraft."

Tommy hunched over in the chair, avoiding eye contact with both Schlatt and Charlie. He chewed on the inside of his mouth and watch the light on the tape recorder flash red every other second.

"Are you comfortable with answering some questions, Tommy?" Charlie asked. Tommy nodded.

"Yeah, just not used to it yet." 

"It's okay. We're going to go ahead with the interview, but remember you don't have to answer a question you're not comfortable with."

Tommy took a few deep breaths, and leaned back in the chair.

"So, what do you remember about the night your father passed away?"

"Well," Tommy began. Charlie noticed the way he spoke when he was nervous was similar to Wilbur. "I was out with Wilbur. He made a grocery list and we went out and got everything. Then, he let me drive home, because I wanted to. When we got home, Wilbur and I went up to see Dad. I couldn't see him too well from behind Wilbur. But he looked.." He paused briefly. "different."

"How different?" Schlatt asked. Tommy looked at him.

"His skin was gray. And his eyes were closed, but he didn't look like he was asleep." He looked down.

"So, what happened after that?" 

"Wilbur made me go to my room. I knew he didn't want me to see Dad. I heard the cops and the ambulance show up a while later."

"Did Wilbur tell you what happened later?"

"He told me that Dad died in his sleep. He's been sick for the past week or so. That night, I could tell he looked more ill than usual. It hurts, a lot, but it's not surprising."

Charlie scanned his eyes down the bookshelves, letting his finger run down all of the spines. A light trail of green slime followed his finger, and he wiped it off with his jacket sleeve. "Tommy, who took care of your dad while he was sick?"

"We all did, equally. Mainly Wilbur, but Dream and George also did a lot of the harder stuff." Charlie nodded.

"What was the last fight you know of, regarding your dad?" He saw Tommy's eyes widen. He still refused to look up.

"Around three weeks ago, Dad wasn't sick yet. Karl, Quackity and Sapnap wanted to take me, Tubbo and Ranboo to a summer festival in California. Dad was okay with it, at first, but then a few days later they were trying to bake something and they almost started a fire. The whole inside of the oven was charred.

"Dad told them they weren't responsible enough to take us across the country. Quackity got upset, because he was really excited. And, he did yell at Dad a little bit. But, they made up right after. I think that was the last fight Dad was in."

The room fell silent again. Charlie paced around the room.

"One more question, Tommy." Tommy looked up at Schlatt. "And then we'll be done. Is that okay?" Tommy nodded. Schlatt cleared his throat.

"Did your dad have any secrets?" He spoke softly, leaning in closer to Tommy. "Did he ever tell you or your brothers anything that he didn't tell anyone else?"

"Um, hold on." Tommy straightened his posture. "He told me and Wilbur that he was thinking of becoming a writer. He also has a secret record collection of 90s pop music." Tommy huffed, like he was about to laugh. Charlie smiled, but Schlatt didn't move. "But, other than that, no. Nothing weird."

Schlatt stood up from the chair. He looked over at Charlie, who was now standing next to the door. He turned off the tape recorder.

"I think we're done." Tommy stood up. "Thank you, Tommy."

The door opened. Schlatt and Tommy left the room.

"I'll get the next person. Take the chair, Charlie."

\-----

"Interview number three. Same date, time 10:02 AM. We're talking with Tubbo Underscore-Minecraft."

Tubbo looked brighter than the other two. His suit was decorated with mixtures of yellow, green, and blue. The breast pocket had a flower in it that matched the yellow accents on his suit. Sitting in his lap was a stuffed animal; a pig with a rotting face holding a golden sword. He didn't look happy, but he didn't look as sorrowful as his brothers.

"How are you feeling, Tubbo?" Schlatt asked. He leaned back on the edge of the desk.

"Trying not to be too sad, I guess." Tubbo shrugged his shoulders.

"You look like you're taking this better than your brothers."

"Yeah, well." Tubbo pulled his stuffed animal tighter to him. "I don't think I am, really. I'm just hiding it better than them."

"Why are you hiding it, Tubbo?" Charlie asked. Tubbo looked at him.

"I don't want my friends to see me upset. Everyone can't be sad. It'll make everything so much worse." Charlie nodded his head in agreement. 

"So, Tubbo, when did you find out about what happened to your dad?" Schlatt took over again.

"That night. The sirens woke Ranboo up, and he woke me up after he found out what they were. When I looked outside, there were police cars and an ambulance in our front yard.

"Did you know who they were for right away?"

"No. I was really tired, and I guess I just didn't think about it. Ranboo and I walked out of our room, and when I asked Wilbur what was going on, he told us that it wasn't anything and he wanted us to go back to bed. So we did."

"And in the morning?"

"Ranboo woke me up and told me what happened." Tubbo looked down, eyes locking on the pencil holder on the corner of the desk.

"You and Ranboo are quite close, aren't you?" Charlie spoke up.

"Yeah, you could say that." Charlie cocked his eyebrow. Tubbo smiled. "We're, uh, we're platonically married."

"What?" Schlatt and Charlie said in unison. Tubbo laughed.

"Well, we're best friends. We have been since he moved in a few months ago. But, a while ago we got platonically married."

"Actually married?" Schlatt's confused facial expression made Tubbo grin.

"Kind of. Not the same way as an actual married couple. But we got married by a real priest." Tubbo held up the stuffed animal. "We have a son, too."

Schlatt scoffed. "So, back on the topic of your dad-" Charlie coughed to interrupt Schlatt.

"What's your son's name, Tubbo?" Charlie asked. Schlatt looked at him, raising his eyebrows in slight disbelief.

"Michael." Tubbo sat the stuffed animal, Michael, back down. "Dad won him at the fair when it was in town last month and he gave him to us." Charlie nodded.

"Anyways, Tubbo, what happened at the house while your brothers were gone?" Schlatt turned the conversation back to the investigation.

"Not much. We started watching a movie, it was something Fundy picked out and I can't remember what it was about. Everyone got bored of it really fast, and we all went to do our own stuff. I know Techno, Sapnap, Quackity, and Dream went upstairs for sure, if that matters. But I don't know if that was everyone."

"Do you think they went up there to visit your father?"

"Maybe, I don't know." Tubbo shrugged. He chewed on his thumb nail, breaking it on the edge. Schlatt closed his eyes, letting out a slow sigh.

"Is there anything else you think will be important, Tubbo?" He had an impatient tone to his voice that Charlie noticed. Tubbo paused to think.

"Oh! Tubbo, I want to know something." Both sets of eyes turned to Charlie. "What's up with your last names?"

"What do you mean?" Tubbo asked. Charlie saw Schlatt roll his eyes out of the corner of his vision.

"You and all of your brothers have different last names, right?" Tubbo nodded. "Why?"

"Well, when Wilbur was born and when Phil adopted us three, we all had the same last name. Minecraft." Charlie nodded, making a small motion with his hand for Tubbo to continue. "When we started secondary school-well, high school, I guess- he let us change them to whatever we wanted. Wilbur chose Soot, Techno chose Blade, Tommy chose Innit, and I chose Underscore."

"Where they chosen for any particular reason?"

"No. We just liked them." Tubbo grinned. Schlatt shook his head. He reached forward and turned off the tape recorder.

"Okay, we're done." Schlatt walked towards the door. "Thank you, Tubbo. I'll walk you back out there and give you guys a break. Is that okay?" Tubbo stood up and nodded, a confused and suspicious look growing on his face. They left the study room, leaving Charlie confused, and honestly, a little scared.

\-----

"We need to talk." Schlatt closed the door behind him.

"Did I do something wrong?" Charlie stood up from the chair.

"They're not our friends, Charlie. They're suspects in a fucking murder case." He leaned against the door.

"I wasn't talking to him like a friend, Schlatt, I was talking to him like a person. Like a kid."

"You know that kid could've easily killed Phil, right? Do you know that?" He pointed at the door.

"Yes, Schlatt, I understand. But-"

"And it's our job, as detectives, to figure that out. As fast as we possibly can."

"By questioning everyone over and over about the same thing until one of them gives in?"

"Yes! That's exactly what I mean." Schlatt scoffed. A dull anger began to build in the back of Charlie's mind, but he pushed it away.

"Schlatt, that's not how an interrogation works. Especially when we don't know _any_ of the details besides the basics."

"That's how it worked in all of my other cases. And I've solved all of those ones."

"This isn't a normal case, Schlatt. This is a huge family, all living in a huge house together." Charlie stepped forward, still keeping his distance. "A lot of these kids, and these adults, are traumatized. They've gone through a lot before they came here. You can't just yell at them and demand everything about their only father figure's murder. That makes it worse."

"So, what do you expect me to do, then?" Schlatt bit on the inside of his lip. "Treat them like a best friend, and the turn around and arrest them and treat them like shit when we find the evidence? Yeah, that'll go over really well."

"That's not what I'm talking about at all. We treat them like people, learn who they are, and that can help us a hell of a lot in the long run."

"What are you, a psychology major?" Schlatt laughed. "You don't know what you're doing anyways, this is the first case we let you on. Just let me do the talking. The faster we get someone to confess, the better."

"And you really think that's the best way to go through with this?"

"Yeah, actually. I do"

"Hate to be a jerk, man." Charlie started. "But, for someone who's been doing this for almost 11 years you're _really bad_ at this."

"Shut the fuck up. Your idea is worse."

"Let's try this, then?" Charlie popped his fingers. "The next interview we do, we do it my way. If it works better, if we learn more from that way, we stick with it. But if it doesn't work, we go with your plan. Is that okay?"

Schlatt crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Fine." He opened the door again. "I'll go get one of them."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please let me know if you like the layout of this chapter! there's so many single lines of dialogue and i don't know if it's too hard to read or anything.


	3. Calling Backup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The detectives finish the interviews, but one of them decides they might need some more help if they want to continue their investigation.

_"No, this isn't happening." The person was standing in the family room. They were shaking, anger and rage flowing through their veins._

_"Sorry, you can't stay here anymore." Phil spoke with a calm tone in his voice. His arms were crossed in front of his chest. "You need to be gone by the end of the month."_

_"No! You can't do that. Please. I have nothing besides here. Nothing besides you and everyone here." They were shaking._

_"I'm sorry. You're causing too much trouble. It was fine before but now, with what you did last night, I need you gone."_

_"It wasn't as bad as you think it was, I promise!" They were yelling now. Tears were swelling in their eyes. "Please. I'll make it up to you."_

_"It's too late. What you did was bad. When the police find out, you're going to prison, and you're not getting out."_

_"It was an accident!" They yelled. Their face was a dark shade of red, and some of the veins on their forehead were visible. "I can't go anywhere else."_

_"You can, and you will." Phil moved to leave the family room. "That's final."_

_Phil left them standing there, shaking and full of anger. Their vision was blurry and they couldn't think._

_One word repeated over and over in their mind._

_Revenge._

\-----

The rest of the interviews went by smoothly.

Schlatt and Charlie met each of the members of the household, who Schlatt called 'potential suspects'. They stuck with Charlie's plan, which made Schlatt less interested in the interviews. There were 7 in total; Dream, George, Sapnap, Karl, Quackity, Fundy, and Ranboo. The only one that was directly related to Phil was Fundy, who is Wilbur's son. He's a fox hybrid, and ages to adulthood faster than regular people, which explains why he's almost a grown adult despite being born a little more than a year ago. Ranboo is the most recent addition to the mansion, moving in right after his 16th birthday a few months prior. 

No one said anything suspicious, or anything that made them seem like they would want to hurt Phil. They all loved Phil, on the contrary. He took care of them, he was a father figure to them. He helped them when no one else would.

The sun was beginning to set when they did the last interview. The sky turned from a bright blue to a vibrant mix of reds and yellows, dusted over with clouds. Charlie and Schlatt made their way to the family room, watching the policemen immediately leave once the interviews were completed. Tommy was asleep on one of the couches, feet dangling off the armrest. Everyone else was either yawning or hungry.

"Thank you guys, we really appreciate all of the cooperation." Charlie grinned and clapped his hands together once. "We'll be back in a few days to look over everything, and maybe ask some more questions." Wilbur hit Tommy on the shoulder and he shot up awake.

"Wilbur?" He looked up at Schlatt. "Is it okay if you follow us out?" He nodded.

They left the family room in a small group. They made their way to Schlatt's car, standing at the passenger side door.

"Do you guys have any cameras?" Charlie asked. Schlatt walked to the driver's side of the car.

"Yeah. Two at the gate and a few throughout the house."

"Can we get copies of the footage from the day of Phil's murder?" Schlatt got into the car. Wilbur nodded.

"Sure."

"Perfect. Send it to our tech guy. His name's Jack, I'll email you his information when I get back to the office." He patted Wilbur on the shoulder, hopping into the car. The engine purred, looping around the pavement and heading back toward the gate.

\-----

The ride back to the Police Department was longer than it originally felt like. Rock music played quietly from the radio, Schlatt hitting his hand on the steering wheel with the beat of the song. Charlie leaned his seat back so he was laying down, staring up at the ceiling of the car.

"Did you have fun, Charlie?" Schlatt asked. Charlie turned to look at him the best he could.

"I guess. If you would call that fun."

"Hey, as the years go by, interviewing the family of murder victims will be the most fun you ever have." Charlie scoffed.

"Yeah. Can't wait for that to happen." Schlatt flipped on his signal, and turned down the road the Police Department was on.

"Thanks for, uh, knocking some sense in me earlier."

"About what?"

"The whole interview thing. The way you talked to them was a lot better than my way. I should've listened to you in the first place." Charlie grinned.

"Are you getting soft on me now, Schlatt?"

"Fuck off."

They laughed together as the car turned into the Police Department parking lot.

~~~~~

_I need your help._

_I'm with the new guy, Charlie Slime. We're on the Phil Minecraft murder case. We haven't been on it long, but I already have a feeling this isn't like a normal case._

_The family's tight knit. None of them are acting like murderers. We've only done the interviews today, and tomorrow we're going to tour the house and look through security cam footage. But this case isn't open and shut._

_I don't think we can solve this alone._

_Charlie's new, I haven't done a murder case in almost 2 years now. You're the best on our team. I don't know if I'm over reacting, but I don't want this to end up like my last case._

_Please reach out to me as soon as you can. We need you._

_\- Schlatt_

\-----

Schlatt and Charlie met in the office next morning. Schlatt slid a small slip of paper into the office next to his, going into the main lobby to find Charlie. He spotted him next to the coffee machine.

"You look tired." Charlie jumped slightly after hearing Schlatt's voice. He laughed and grabbed an empty styrofoam cup.

"I've been up all night. I've been listening to the interview recordings all night." He took a drink from his cup. "To see if something didn't match up." Schlatt took the coffee pot and poured some into his cup.

"Find anything?"

"Well, um, you know Sapnap? The one with the two husbands?"

"What about him?"

"He has a juvenile arson charge in Fort Worth from 6 years ago. And before that, his parents died in a house fire when he was 8. He didn't tell us about that when we talked to him."

"We never asked them." Schlatt drank the rest of his coffee. Charlie poured the rest into his cup. "Did you find anything else about the others?"

"Not really. Dream dropped out of the 8th grade, George's parents abandoned him in the US when he was a baby, Karl's parents died in a car accident when he could barely walk. Those were all the ones I could find anything about."

"Okay, we can ask them about that next time we get a chance. What's the plan today?"

"Meeting Jack at the tech place. Lookin' over the camera footage."

"Should we tell the family now? About the whole 'your dad was murdered, and one of you did it' thing?" Schlatt raised his eyebrows. They each threw away their cups and made their way to exit the building. The cold New England air hit their faces sharply. They made their way to Schlatt's car, which was in the closest parking spot to the door that wasn't a handicapped spot.

"Probably, I dunno. I guess we'll figure that out when we get there."

Schlatt started the car. The sound of the AC starting and a man speaking over the radio filled the car. Charlie reached into the glove cabinet and grabbed a pack of Winston reds and a lighter. He pulled out two and handed one to Schlatt.

"Is Jack still on the other side of town?"

"Next to the mall." Charlie lit their cigarettes.

"Have you had breakfast yet?"

"No." Schlatt and Charlie looked at each other.

"McDonalds?"

"Hell yeah."

\-----

She walked into her office, flicking the light on and watching the room fill with a yellow-tinted light. She stepped in, footsteps muted by the carpet. She took off the satchel she had wrapped in her arms and sat it down so it was leaning against the wall. When she took another step she heard a crumbling noise.

"What the hell?" She spoke to herself, looking down. Underneath her foot was a folded up sheet of lined paper. She picked it up off the ground and closed the door behind her.

Her name was written on the top in messy cursive. She sat down in her desk, stalling opening the letter. Her desk was covered in folders and papers, with a picture of her cat next to her monitor. She took in a slow breath and opened the letter.

Her eyes skimmed slowly down the letter, taking in every word written. She knew immediately who had written the note before she had finished it. The handwriting was messy and rushed, some words printed and others in some form of cursive. Once she finished it, she skimmed over it again.

And again.

On the fourth time, she crumbled the paper into a ball and threw it across the room. She put her head in her hands.

"Dammit, Schlatt." She stood from her chair. "I can't keep saving your ass."

Without hesitating, she opened the door and grabbed the satchel, wrapping the strap around her shoulder.

"Dammit."

The door slammed shut behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading!! <3


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